Method of making skeleton crates



' July 14, 1936- u. K. JOHANNSEN METHOD OF MAKING SKELETON CRATES Filed 001;. 26, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 (/Jo h. Johan/wen INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

July 14, 1936.

U. K. JOHANNSEN METHOD OF MAKING SKELETON CRATES Filed Oct. 26, 1933 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (Ida lK/oba/vmeh INVENTOR. I

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 14, 1936 METHOD OF MAKING SKELETON CRATES Udo K. Johannsen, Cortland, N. Y., assignor to The Brewer-Titchener Corporation, Cortland, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 26, 1933, Serial No. 695,304

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to the art of allmetal containers of the open top framework type designed to be built up from narrow slat iron or so-called strip stock, and includes an improved method for economically fabricating a simple rectangular skeleton crate of the open top type intended to protectively store and bodily transport therein, a group of fragile articles, particularly beverage bottles or the like glassware.

Certain of my interspaced upright housing members may herein be extended beyond the level of the respective bottle tops to admit of stacking a large number of such loaded crates in a telescopically centered and laterally stabilized relationship without imposing any load upon the crated contents.

The primary object of my invention is to provide for a sturdy metallic crate of the character indicated inwhich such structure may be held to the minimum of slat size and weight for prescribed loading requirements, and one capable of withstanding rough usage at the minimum of upkeep charges. A further object is to deaden the inherent tendency toward metallic chatter that is usually encountered in conveying or roughly handling resounding sheet metal containers of the conventional type, also to provide my crate with transversely disposed grillwork serving to maintain bottles or the like contents in an upright position and in compact row formation.

Embodied herein are also other structural features and manipulative steps designed to facilitate the fabrication of my slat iron crate upon an inherently rapid assembly rate and a corresponding low-cost productive scale, all of which aspects will hereinafter be more explicitly pointed out. Reference is had to the accompanying two sheets of drawings which are illustrative of a preferred embodiment, and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 shows an elevational side view of my assembled crate, while Figs. 2 and 3 respectively disclose an end view and a top view thereof.

Figs. 4 and 5 are partial sectional views, respectively taken along lines 44 and 55 of the aforesaid figures.

Fig. 6 fragmentally illustrates certain assembly andwelding steps associated with my housing straps, and Fig. 7 schematically depicts a press for subsequently forming the slat ends into housing uprights.

Fig. 8 details an alternately twisted strip stock element for making my bottle spacer grill and Fig. 9 shows an assembled separator unit as made up from such elements.

Fig. 10 represents a plan view of an endless housing hoop and Fig. 11 a special tool for smoothly shaving 01f the butt weld thereof, while Fig. 12 is a modified hoop provided with a grip portion as used to trim the top of my crate.

Fig. 13 depicts a modified panel that is remov- 5 ably sprung between certain crate hoops.

A detailed description will first be directed to the structural features of my crate as an article of manufacture. As collectively illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5, the housing bottom comprises com- 10 plementary pairs of thin, laterally spaced slat irons such as H] and II, which are disposed fiatwise and in crosswise latticed but non-interwoven formation, the respective extended end regions of such slats being sharply kinked to constitute L 15 shaped housing uprights such as l2 and I3. Certain of these upturned slat legs are embraced within a plurality of strap iron hoops, of which the endless bottom hoop 14 may be raised above the lowermost face of said latticework by a compartively small spacer distance designated as S. The respective upright extremities are similarly embraced by a top hoop l5 which, for stacking purposes, is preferably kept of a perimetric size'somewhat larger than the hoop I4. The intermediate hoop it may be identical in size with the bottom hoop. The respective hoops may be parallelly spaced with an embossed name plate or other suitable panel I"! interposed therebetween of which the free edges may be clenched at 18 around the respective contiguous uprights, as shown in Fig. 1.

Respectively spanning the confines of the bottom and the intermediate hoop is a separate grillwork, each comprising a plurality of alternately twisted strip stock elements that are crossedly meshed in a manner corresponding to the housing latticework but disposed in straddling registration thereto, to the end that when standing erect upon the housing bottom, each bottle I9 will be adequately upheld within a pair of such grill meshes and separately retained against sidewise displacement.

The complementary ends and sides of my crate may respectively be given a' similar configuration. Opposite ends of the top hoop are shown deformed to provide for a pair of rounded grips 20 for lifting purposes, and in these particular regions, the housing uprights may be cut away to afford suitable hand holes such as 2!. Intermediate said grips, the top hoop is equipt with a crossbar 22 arranged to augment the lateral rigidity of the crate and also to provide for a supplementary lifting handle. This bar is purposely inset and kept depressed beneath the 55 housing uprights.

uppermost face of the top hoop IE to allow of unobstructedly centering and stacking a number of loaded crates thereover that are respectively entered by the aforesaid distance S? in ,the telescopic fashion indicated at 23. It is preferred to havethe bottom hoop M of a superimposed crate act as a stop medium by resting directly upon the upturned leg ends of the U shaped housing slats of the crate therebeneath as shown in Fig. 4.

As a further refinement, it is preferred to cross-sectionally dish and thereby reenforce the upper region of the respective uprights as at 24 r in order to laterally stifien such columnlike supports against a heavy: downward thrust, it being common practice to stack such loaded crates to a considerable height in transport or for bottle storage purposes. As will be understood, the describ-edcrate elements are intended to be spot welded, riveted or otherwise secured together in certain of their crossover regions to constitute a unitary structure.

Having defined the article, its preferred mode of fabrication is as follows:

Referring now to Fig. 6, which is illustrative of a preferred step in the making of my crate housing, this shows two mated series of slat irons it and ii, that may respectively be severed from reeled strip stock intosuitable lengths and To facilitate the rapid assembly of such housing elements, resort may be had to a suitable grooved locatingjigor fixture it as represented in dotted puuine and provided with an access aperture 27 that circumscribes' the respective slat crossover points. The respective endsof the rectilinear slat iron portions it and H extend outwardly to provide for the making of the While positively retained by the jig, such fiat latticework may be simultaneously spot welded through said jig aperture in certain tit regions by means of a special multiple welding machine of the ram type.

Thcreupon, such interconnected structure 'is bodily: removed from its fixture and subjected to a forming operation by the use of the press shownin Fig. 7. platen 28 and a suitable ram member 29, which latter may be equipt with a retractable retain ing plate 36' and a circumscribing ringlike punch member 3! arranged to simultaneously kink and thereby throw down all of the overhanging slat ends such as l2 and I3 into the depending right angular relation that is represented by dotted outline in Fig. 7.

Attention will now be directed to the making of my oblong housing hoops, which as depicted in Fig. 10, may be formed up by the use ofa four point bending machine into an endless round cornered, configuration having abutting strap ends that are preferably flash welded together In order to eliminatethe usual grinding operation, the resulting 'flash enlargement indicated at 32,

use of short-' Said press rnay comprise a is herein shaved ch in animprovedmanner by resort to a special shearing implement. 'I'his device is preferably of the hinged jaw type and may. comprise a pair of separable dies such as 33 of Fig. 11 adapted to snugly embrace the cross- 5 sectional profile or the'strap iron. By enteringm 'the welded hoop between the closed jaws and forcing said dies lengthwise along the strap iron while the weld is still hot, all superfluous flash metal is readily shaved off to present a neat and snioothly finished joint trim. 7

As intimated, the bottom hoop M and the intermediate hoop it are preferably kept identical in perimetric size and each equipt with 1 a; spanning separator grillwork as indicated in full lines by Fig. 9. By the use of an automatic fiat wire machine of the four slide type, alternately. twisted grill elements 3 5 and 34 of the kind fragmentally shown in Fig. 8, may be cheaply v fabricated from reeled strip stock and have their respective ends dffset to constitute a welding foot lug such as 35. Elements of suitable overall lengths are then jig assembled as in Fig. 9, and

thereupon spot welded at the respective cross points in a manner substantially identical with that described in connectionwith Fig. 6. Such a separator grill is thereupon inserted into'either the hoop M or it when the respective foot lugs 35 may be welded to the circumscribing strap to constitute a unitary traylike StI'HCtLIIG'Of the meshed type, through which bottlesor the like may be freely centered. It will be observed that between each pair of adjacent bottles, the strip stock is turned edgewise to allow a compact content disposition, whereas in the crossover re gions ofsaid elements, the strip stock isturned fiatwise to facilitate the superimposed welding thereof. f e 7 The top hoop l 5 being devoid of such a grill, is given a somewhat different treatment. be apparent from Fig. 12, the opposite strap're gions of this rectangular hoop are axially twisted and then dished to provide for the rounded finger grip Zil. Such restricted formation; may readily be carried out by means of a suitable pressrand special dies'designed-to confine the respective hoop corner regions against twist while both grips are being simultaneously formed in a single operation by a successive twisting and crosssectional dishing of the respective grip regions. By use of such dies and in the same operation therewith, the diametrically opposite sides of the hoop may each be given a further localized twisted depression as at 36, preparatory to receiving the crossbar '22 therebetween. The kinked length of certain end uprights is purposely shortened to provide for the desired hand hole clearance beneath the respective grips.

Having completed the making of the com- 21;. ponent crate members, these essentially comprise the following subassemblies, viz a bui1tup hous-- ing provided with interspaced uprights, a pair of unitary hoop trays, and a finishing top ring. Assuming the processed housing members to be 1: placed in their normal upright position, then the externally. disposed bottom hoop may first be sprung downward into place over the free ends of its various still flexible uprights l2 and 53, which brings the spaced grill separators into a laterally staggered relation to the crossed bottom slats of the housing 'as shown in Fig. 3. When locatedto provide for the inset distance S, this hoop may then be fixed welded or riveted in place.

As a next" step, the inturned edges of the panel As willie I! when used, may be slid down along registering uprights which may in turn be followed by the intermediate hoop l6 and its spacer grid until said superimposed hoop rests snugly upon the complementary panels, whereupon it may likewise be fixedly securedto the embraced upright slats. Finally, the top hoop I5 may be sprung intoplace and securely welded. Where needed, the cross-bar ends may be nested into the hoop depressions 36 and fastened thereto. It is emphasized that the described welding operations tions resides in the use of reeled strip stock for cheaply producing a high class, competitive crate, designed to provide ample strength for intended purposes without becoming cumbersome in weight. In addition, the exterior contour of such built-up housing is devoid of all sharp projections that might otherwise lead to'annoyance in the handling or stacking of heavily loaded crates. It is thought unnecessary to specifically illustrate the cited well known types of fabricating instrumentalities through which myimproved process may be expedited. When crate stacking is not a requirement, it may be deemed advisable to dispense with the described superstructure and substitute therefor, a two-high ring assembly in which the features of the top hoop I5 and the intermediate hoop l6 are similarly combined.

As an alternative step in the previously described process, the various housing slat elements may each be initially kinked into U shape, then jig assembled as such and thereupon simultanecusly welded in certain of their yoke crossover regions. As a further modification, reference is made to Fig. 13 in which a relatively thin, metallic panel HA may initially be dished and given a concavo-convex profile such as is represented in dotted cross-sectional outline. Upon being flattened, the panel is then snugly sprung into place between and behind the contiguous hoops l4 and I6 as shown,'which correspondingly modifies the previously described assembly sequence. By the use of such panel, stock crates may be completely finished including the painting or galvanizing thereof, and have a suitable name plate with an ownership inscription fixedly attached thereon after each such crate is otherwise made ready for delivery or shipment.

Other advantages inherent in my crate assembly are believed apparent to those skilled in this art, it being obvious that the same underlying structural principles may be utilized in associations other than for bottle containers and that various alterations in design may readily be resorted to in likewise carrying out my illustrative embodiment, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention heretofore described and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. The method of fabricating a skeleton crate and which method consists in the following steps, viz: severing from strip stock, two mated series of substantially rectilinear slat elements each having a finite length; by the use of jig means laying the respective medial regions of one such series of elements into superimposed crosswise relationship over the other. series of elements to constitute an assembled planiform latticework of non-interwoven pattern including a plurality of overhanging slat extensions that are retained against endwise movement by said jig; then while thus retained, positively interconnecting certain of such crossover regions to constitute a unitary latticed structure bodily removable from said jig; thereupon, simultaneously kinking certain of said slat extensions into angular relation with respect to the plane of the aforesaid latticework; providing for a hoop perimetrically sized to embrace the kinked extensions and placing the hoop therearound; and lastly, securing certain of the embraced slat portions to said hoop.

2. The process of fabricating an all-metal skeleton crate and which process consists in the following steps, viz: severing from strip stock, two mated series of substantially rectilinear slat elements each having a finite length and by the use of jig means laying the respective medial regions of one such series of elements into superimposed crosswise relationship over the other series of elements to constitute an assembled planiform latticework of non-interwoven pattern including a plurality of overhanging slat extensions that are retained against endwise movement by said jig; simultaneously welding together certain of such latticed crossover regions; thereupon kinking the slat extensions into a common angular relation with respect to the plane of said latticework; providing for a hoop perimetrically sized to embrace said kinked extensions and placing the hoop therearound; and lastly, securing certain of the embraced slat portions to said hoop.

3. The method of fabricating a skeleton crate and which method consists in providing for two mated series of slat elements; by the use of jig means laying the respective slat series into superimposed crosswise relationship to constitute an assembled planiform latticework of non-interwoven pattern including overhanging slat extensions that are retained by said jig against endwise movement; then positively interconnecting certain of the latticed crossover regions; thereupon similarly kinking the respective slat extensions into L shape leg formation; providing for a pair of hoops perimetrically sized to embrace the respective kinked legs of such slat extensions; spanningly inserting a meshed grillwork within each such hoop; placing the respective hoops around said legs and entering a leg terminal through a contiguous mesh of each such grillwork; and lastly, securing certain of said legs to a circumscribing hoop.

4. The method of fabricating a skeleton crate and which method consists in the following steps, viz: providing for one series of metallic slat elements, comprising relatively long and short lengths and also providing for a companion series of slat elements; by the use of jig means assembling the respective medial regions of said one series into laid superimposed crosswise latticelike disposition with respect to the companion slats to constitute a non-interwoven pattern having a plurality of relatively short and long slat extensions that oppositely overhang such latticework and which extensions are respectively retained against endwise movement by the jig means; welding together certain of such latticed crossover regions and thereupon kinking all of the aforesaid extensions into a common L shape relative to their respective medial slat regions;

providing for a hoop perimetrioally sized to embrace the terminal regions of such relatively long constitute a relatively flat latticework including overhanging slat extensions; thenpositively interconnecting certain of the latticed crossover regions; thereupon similarly kinking the respective slat extensions into L shape; providing .for a metallic straplike hoop ofv rectangular contour sized to embrace certain leg ends of said kinked' slat extensions; axially twisting a localized region of said hoop and then cross-sectionally dishing such region to form up a grip portion; and thereupon, placing the hoop around the aforesaid legs and. securing the hoop thereto.

6. The process of making a skeleton structure and which process consists in providing for two mated series of slats of which one such series has a'slat terminal region laterally reenfo-rced by a cross-sectionally dished formation; assembling the respective series of slats in laid superimposed crosswise lattice-like disposition of non-interwoven pattern withthe respective reenforced slat terminaljjregions extended outwardly beyond such latticework; then positively interconnecting certain .of the latticed crossover points; then kinking the, extended. slat portions inwardly of their respective reenforced terminal regions;

providing for a hoop perimetrically sized to embrace the kinked extensions and placing the hoop therearound; and lastly, securing certain of the embraced slat portions to. said. hoop.

.v 7. The method of fabricating a skeleton crate and which method consists in providing mate-d series of slat elements; assembling the respec-' tive slat series into crosswise relationship to constitute a relatively flat latticework including overhanging slat extensions; then positively in- V terconnecting certain of the latticed crossover regions; thereupon similarly kinking the respec- 

